Resource configuration and creative practices of community entrepreneurs

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on the role of the community entrepreneur and the process of community entrepreneurship. It seeks to emphasize the social context as critical for gaining access to the resources needed by a community venture and elaborates on the action pattern of the community entrepreneur towards raising critical resources from the environment.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on a longitudinal field study of community entrepreneurs in four Norwegian rural municipalities. The data consists of interviews, observations, and documents.FindingsCommunity entrepreneurs create local arenas and thereby facilitate cooperative entrepreneurial action, through bridging social capital. The actors are part of these community contexts and are involved in a range of reciprocal relations. Thus, the actors' creative practices toward the community have to run parallel with the resource configuration process.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies may provide a broader empirical platform in different communities, and take part in the process for a longer time period. One may also develop comparative studies focusing on the basic resource platform, the action pattern, and the performance of the different social ventures.Practical implicationsA major finding is that government support should be flexible and develop tools “tailored” to the characteristics of the rural communities. The combined resources of the entrepreneurs, social networks, and more formal institutions create more ambitious results.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the field of entrepreneurship by studying community entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial ventures. Further, an integration of a resource configuration approach and a practice‐oriented approach gives an increased understanding to the community venture creation process.

Rural social enterprises in Europe: A systematic literature review

“…The second group of studies has a focus on organisational processes followed by rural social enterprises, such as the emergence and long-term viability of the enterprise. More specifically, these studies have focused on the different stages that the development of social enterprises follow (Haugh, 2007; Henderson et al., 2018; Munoz et al., 2015; Valchovska and Watts, 2016), or on the motives that drive individuals or groups to initiate these kinds of ventures (Jarl Borch et al., 2008; Wyper et al., 2016). Within this group, some studies have focused on the relationship between these processes and how rural social enterprises mobilise and configure different types of resources (e.g.…”

“…Hence, it is of importance for these organisations to gain the support from the local community. Within the reviewed studies, the involvement of the local community has been identified as a key factor for building legitimacy within the community and for being able to mobilise the necessary resources that support the emergence and the sustainability of these organisations (Healey, 2015; Jarl Borch et al., 2008; Valchovska and Watts, 2016; Vestrum, 2014; Vestrum et al., 2017). This local involvement also shows the critical role played by volunteers’ time, energy and expertise, both in the emergence and sustainability of rural social enterprises (Calderwood and Davies, 2012; Farmer et al., 2008; Haugh, 2007; Ludvig et al., 2018; Perry and Alcock, 2010).…”

“…The rural context plays an important part in the way rural social enterprises conduct their activities to deliver the impacts described above (e.g. Farmer et al., 2008; Franks and McGloin, 2007; Jarl Borch et al., 2008; Lorendahl, 1996; Smith and McColl, 2016; Vestrum et al., 2017). The rural environment provides enabling and constraining factors simultaneously (Farmer et al., 2008; Steinerowski and Steinerowska-Streb, 2012; Steiner and Teasdale, 2019).…”

Electronic Commerce for Sustainable Rural Development: Exploring the Factors Influencing BoPs’ Entrepreneurial Intention

“…Resource endowment refers to the unique resources that enterprises can obtain locally, including landscape, material resources, community resources, heritage, and cultural symbols [36]. Generally speaking, starting a business based on local resource endowment provides entrepreneurs with a certain competitive advantage in the local market [37]. Local resource endowment can significantly affect entrepreneurial behavior [14].…”

Tourism Entrepreneurship – Review and Future Directions

“…These studies reflect the importance of place and destination in tourism entrepreneurship also reflected in other studies (e.g., Daskalopoulou & Petrou, 2009;Ioannides & Petersen, 2003;Paniagua, 2002;Wilson et al, 2001), issues which are more seldom discussed in mainstream entrepreneurship research (Johnstone & Lionais, 2004). A small but growing area of mainstream entrepreneurship can be seen as related; the literature on community entrepreneurship (Borch, Førde, Rønning, Vestrum, & Alsos, 2008;Johannisson, 1990;Peredo & Chrisman, 2006;Vestrum & Rasmussen, 2013), though this link is seldom made.…”